Such housings, for instance, for gasoline pumps, parking slip issue machines, mailboxes with postage issue, and cash registers for parking areas which are protected by barriers, are, as a rule, constructed of steel plate parts in view of the required security against burglars, which plates are connected with each other by welding or riveting. In view of such housings being erected outdoors, a high degree of corrosion resistance is required of the steel plate which is being used. In addition, the installation and fabrication expenses are considerable, since, apart from the bending and the welding tasks, plate thicknesses have to be machined which require specialized machines and which complicate the handling and the transport of these housing parts and housings due to the relatively high weight.
A high installation expense results further from the installation of intermediate bases or bottoms which are required for insertion devices or additional installations as well as the attachment of doors and flaps with pertinent hinge elements, for which purposes, as a rule, welding tasks become necessary at the housing walls.
This classical type of construction, which is practical for the manufacture of a single item, is of little use for fabrication in series with its requirement of as few working steps as possible, pre-fabricated structural components at high reproducability, and a rigorous utilization of standard parts and semi-finished material.